How to Express Mortgage Expertise Without Intimidating Clients

Posted 12/19/2016

Mortgage lending has its own language. It’s a language most clients don’t speak and may not be interested in learning. While that is perfectly understandable, they risk getting lost in the translation.

What You Can Do

Clients can be anxious when they come to see a Loan Officer. From concerns arising about the sellers to having credit surprises they are unaware of, they may already be on edge. Many might not fully understand what they are agreeing to due to an unfamiliarity with application documents, the lengthy approval process, and the esoteric language used. In addition, they may be too embarrassed to ask questions.

Despite a Loan Officer’s best efforts to direct them, this can lead to confusion and even delays in processing an application or completing their closing.

To help ensure your expertise is the resource you intend it to be when working with clients, here are some suggestions for putting clients at ease—with you, the process, and the choices they are making.

5 Tips for Keeping Clients at Ease…and Informed

Keep it simple. As you speak to clients, use plain English. For instance, while the industry refers to how disclosure is made as “TRID,” clients know them as the “Know Before You Owe” rules.

Use analogies. Whenever possible, connect the unfamiliar to the familiar. For instance, if the client has experience buying or selling a car, highlighting the similarities in the mortgage process can make it feel less foreign.

Show progress. The loan process has many steps, and the sequence of these actions is almost as important as timeliness. Update clients as they pass key points along the way. Knowing that progress is being made and hurdles are being cleared helps keep them informed and reduces the anxiety of wondering if they should be doing something to speed things along.

Focus on objectives. Since most people don’t like to talk about money, it helps to recast conversations toward what money will accomplish. “Home equity” may be a common term, but referring to it as “your investment in your home” may resonate better.

Be available. As the expert, let clients know you welcome questions and are as interested in having them understand what they are doing as you are in closing their loan on time.

The alphabet soup of acronyms and unfamiliar terms that are used in the mortgage process can overwhelm clients. Breaking these down to create relevance helps gain and retain client trust and confidence. Knowing that you have their backs as they move through the approval process not only helps allay your clients’ anxiety, it also helps put them at ease with recommending your services to others.

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We at New American Funding take great pride in our customer service and make it our number one priority. We encourage you to contact us for complaint resolution or any post-closing questions you may have regarding the servicing of your loan. We strive to have your experience with New American Funding a stellar one. In the rare case that our service did not meet your expectations, please call our customer care hotline at 1-800-450-2010, ext. 7100 or you may contact us by email at customerservice@nafinc.com. Please leave a detailed message and we will follow up with you no later than the end of the next business day.